First Quarter Advocacy Successes & Stock Market Recap

May 14, 2019 3:30 am

First Quarter Advocacy

No matter how bearish a quarter is, we will always fight for our advocacy to have bullish results.

Advocacy Successes

If you have any interest in NCAA basketball, then you may have watched the final four games of the “March Madness” tournament in Minneapolis.

What you probably don’t know is that the tournament resulted in the arrest of over 50 people for soliciting for prostitution. Of that number, 47 were charged with felony solicitation of a minor. Minors, in this case, means children under the age of 16.

While we don’t know the details of these particular cases, one of our proudest advocacy successes was the instigation of an anti-trafficking policy by the major US hotel chains precisely to combat the sex trafficking of children. Part of that policy is the cooperation of those hotels with local and federal law enforcement efforts.

As a result of the work of law enforcement in Minneapolis, 28 people were rescued from the hands of these human traffickers.

You can join these efforts to create a world of greater morality!

First Quarter Stock Market Recap

Gains & Returns

A really tough December (S&P 500 -9%) was followed by 2019’s first quarter (S&P 500 +13.65%). That kind of gain is roughly double an average year!

What was the catalyst for this monster return? Simple – on January 4th the Federal Reserve said it would be “patient” as far as further interest rate hikes were concerned.

Another factor is the growing perception that the US and China will reach a trade accord. This would remove a sizable impediment to further gains.

Yield Curve

There’s been a lot of talk over the last few months about a possible “inversion” of the yield curve. An inversion occurs when short term interest rates rise above long term interest rates.

History has shown that an inversion is an indicator of recession 12 to 24 months in the future. Despite all the hype, this has not actually occurred (at least in terms of the most common definition).

Based on this, and other indicators, we see little to no risk of an imminent recession.

Who are we? Catholic Investment Strategies.

We bring the Catholic faith to the world of investments. With our help, you can integrate faith into your finances, too.

We provide our clients with investment options that align with their faith. We’re confident we have choices that would interest you.

Post from: Insights